A Tail of Love and Magic
by shuichi77
Summary: Just when Emma and Regina thought life was finally returning to normal in Storybrooke, they suddenly find themselves once again on the receiving end of one of Rumpelstiltskin's dreaded curses. They now have to navigate a strange new world and conquer not only the challenges of the curse, but of their own hearts.
1. Prologue- Banished

**Hello again! So I present to you my second ever crossover fic! Yay! I really hope you all enjoy this one, I know I'm excited about it!**

**I'm going to go ahead and rate this M for later chapter and put a Yaoi filter on it as well as a Yuri(even though I'm not sure it counts since OUAT is a live action, but oh well!) Enjoy!**

"Rumple! Why are you doing this?!

Emma's voice was barely audible amongst the sound of whirling wind created by the glowing green vortex swirling around her and the former mayor of Storybrooke.

"Because deary…There is something that you two just don't seem to be getting… and everyone here in town agrees that this is what is best for the both of you." Regina was quickly becoming annoyed and frustrated with the situation and was quick to lash back.

"Just what are you talking about Rumple?!"

"Now if I told you that you wouldn't learn a thing." Regina let out an aggravated sigh as she conjured two balls of burning red flame in either hand before attempting to blast her way out of the vortex.

"Ah ah ah…That isn't going to work this time. I am sorry…but the curse is already cast." Emma tried to calm herself enough to at least try to figure out what was going on.

"Will you at least tell us what this curse is?!"

"It's very simple really: I'm simply sending you away for a while."

"Away? Away to where?!"

"To the only world that might be able to help you two to see what is right before your eyes. Oh and…you won't be able to return until you figure it out for yourselves. No magic beans, no portals, and no dashing pirate captain to come to your rescue…just you and the queen left to figure it out on your own. Bye bye now dearies…do be careful."

Just then, before either woman could retort, a glowing portal opened up beneath their feet and drug them through the ground, headed for their unknown destination. Both their visions where blurred as they were swept around violently within the portal. The portal then suddenly opened up beneath them before dropping them onto damp grass with a thud. Emma landed squarely on her back against the hard ground while Regina ended the journey in a similar positon only a couple of feet from the blonde. Both women groaned slightly after their rough landing and Regina immediately began to look around their new surroundings.

"Where the hell are we?" Regina's voice had taken on her trademark annoyed tone as she completely ignored the groaning blonde on the ground next to her.

"You mean you don't know?"

"Of course I don't. I don't have some sort of inter-dimensional GPS system." Emma then finally found her way to her feet as she brushed herself off and began to look around her surroundings as well. The duo remained silent for a short moment before Emma's eyes found their way to Regina's figure and she let out a short loud gasp as she covered her mouth with a hand.

"Um…Regina…." Regina answered in a sour tone as she began to walk away from the blonde in order to explore further.

"What?"

"Uh…you have…umm…" Emma was grasping desperately around her mind for the bet words to say but the stumbling only annoyed Regina further until she finally whipped around to look at Emma.

"I have what?!" Regina's eyes then grew wide and her mouth hung open slightly upon seeing the blonde's new look.

"Cat ears…"

"Y-you do too…"

"I do?!" Emma's hands then quickly shot up to feel that she did in fact have a pair of fur covered ears firmly attached to the top of her head. She was then startled by the feeling of something brushing against the back of her leg and she jumped around in such a way that she could see a flash of blonde fur behind her. She reached her hand back before staring back at Regina with a shocked expression and a fluffy blonde tail in hand.

"I have a tail!" This caused Regina to immediately look behind herself to see that she had a long slick black tail flicking behind her.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

**TBC**

**Hope you all enjoyed the prologue! Don't forget to comment and tell me what you think!**


	2. Be Our Guests

**Ello! I just wanted to apologize in advance if there are any typos or grammatical errors in this chapter. It's late, I'm too tired to edit and I am currently without an editor. Please bear with me for the moment! Thanks again for reading! ^_^**

**-Shuichi77**

"Well this is an…interesting turn of events."

The blonde had now reverted back to her normal nonchalant and slightly sarcastic tone of voice. Regina on the other hand was none too pleased with her new furry appendages and it showed clearly on her face.

"Let's just…try to figure out where we are at least."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. We should try and find someplace to stay for the night too."

The two women then finished brushing themselves off before they began heading away from the small tree surrounded clearing where they had landed, toward the faint light from street lamps that dotted a concrete path not too far ahead of them. The duo walked in a somewhat awkward silence as they each tried to get their bearings from the area around them. After a few moments, the silence was finally broken when Emma let out a very small giggle upon noticing that Regina now had her new ears pressed firmly back against her head, like a cat ready to pounce.

"What's got you so upset?" The blonde's voice caused Regina's ears to immediately perk up to a stand as she turned her head in a jerk to answer the blonde next to her.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine." Regina's tone was now very cold and tense, betraying her words to the fullest.

"Well it isn't so easy to hide your emotions when you have ears like that. So what are you thinking about?" The queen gave out an aggravated sigh at this.

"I'm just thinking about Rumpelstiltskin…and all the horrible ways I'm going to kill him when I get back. I think I'll start by burning him alive."

Just as the small smirk crossed Regina's lips and the words left her mouth, a small patch of grass just in front of her suddenly burst into flames for no logical reason. The sight caused both women's mouths to hang slightly agape before they turned to each other with baffled expressions.

"Regina…what the hell was that? I didn't even see you conjure that."

"That's because I didn't."

"Ok…this is really starting to get weird."

"For once, I agree with you."

Emma and the queen then continued on their way until they reached a small concrete path that seemed to wind through what appeared to be a park. They followed the path for a short time before Emma finally spotted two vague figures off in the distance.

"Hey look, there is someone up there. Maybe we could ask them where we are." Regina gave a small scoff at this idea.

"Yes Ms. Swan, let's just waltz up to some strangers in the night in a unknown world and just ask for directions. That sounds like a fool proof plan." Emma was none too pleased with the queens' sarcasm.

"Well do you have a better idea?"

This question quickly took the wind from Regina's sails and she begrudgingly motioned for Emma to lead the way down the path. The blonde was admittedly a little satisfied with her tiny victory and she gladly took the lead at a slightly quicker pace. It was only a couple of minutes before Emma could begin to make out the more detailed silhouette of two figures walking along the path just ahead of them. Once she was sure they were within ear shot, she picked up her pace to a jog as she called out to them.

"Hey! Excuse me! We were wondering if you could help us!"

The blonde's plea was more than enough to cause the two figures to stop and turn around to face them just as she and the queen caught up. Emma took a moment to catch her breath as she slyly gave the strangers a once over. The new figures had turned out to be a very tall and thin blonde, dressed in a pair of tight black pants and a blue button up shirt with only two of the middle buttons closed. His companion on the other hand was drastically short in comparison, dressed in a pair of simple blue jeans and a baby blue jacket. It seemed to Emma that that the shorter one was most likely much younger and she assumed him to a brother or some sort of relative. She also noticed, with some relief, that she and Regina were not the only ones in this world with ears and tails; the boy had them too but oddly enough his taller companion did not. Right as she had caught her breath and made her initial observations, the tall man addressed her with a somewhat blank expression.

"Hello. You said you needed help?" Emma then extended a hand to the blonde, who cautiously took it in his hand and gave it a short yet firm shake.

"Yeah, hi. I'm Emma and this is Regina." Regina simply gave a small tip of her head with a very forced smile before the tall man replied.

"I'm Soubi. This is Ritsuka." Emma thought these were slightly strange names but reminded herself that they were in a different land and simply continued on with the conversation.

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise…now, what did you need help with?"

"Oh right. Well to make a long story short, we aren't exactly from around here and we were just wondering if you could tell us where we are?"

"Well this is Shikaro Park."

"Ah I see…well…" Emma was clearly stumbling around for the words to see, so Regina decided to step in with an annoyed tone.

"We aren't from this world. You're going to need to be a little less specific." This caused both Ritsuka and Soubi to stare at the women for a moment with surprised stares while Emma looked at the queen with a more shocked and angry expression. Just as the silence grew incredibly awkward, the short cat eared boy spoke in a voice full of curiosity and confusion.

"From a different world?" Ritsuka then grabbed Soubi by the arm as he looked up at him. "Is that even possible Soubi?" The tall blonde thought very hard for a short moment before replying to his companion.

"I have never run into a situation like this…but I suppose it isn't impossible." Ritsuka then turned to the women with a slightly suspicious expression.

"So then where are you from exactly?" Emma glanced over at the queen, waiting for her to respond but she was quick to discover that she was in no mood for small talk with strangers.

"Well…we are from a town called Storybrooke but before that we lived in the Enchanted Forest." This answer did not seem to sit well with the boy and he gave a slight scowl as he replied.

"The Enchanted Forest…?"

"Yes."

"Give us just a second."

Ritsuka then drug Soubi along the path a ways by the sleeve of his shirt. Once he was sure that they were out of hearing range, Ritsuka stood to face Soubi with a sour expression.

"Soubi let's get out of here. Those women are crazy."

"Now don't be so harsh. We have no reason to believe that they aren't telling the truth."

"Soubi people lie! I mean, the Enchanted Forest? That is an imaginary place from fairy tales. You can't really believe them can you?" Soubi simply gave a warm smile at this as he placed a large hand on the top of Ritsuka's head and ruffled his hair slightly.

"Don't be so negative. They seem harmless." The boy angrily pushed the blonde's hand off of his head before letting out an aggravated sigh.

"Whatever."

Soubi then returned back down the path to join the women once again, with Ritsuka following right behind, very begrudgingly. Once they were standing back in front of the stranded duo, Soubi gave a smile and he addressed them in a pleasant voice.

"Well we are sorry to hear that you have somehow ended up so far from your home." Emma was a little surprised by the sudden change of attitude but was glad to carry on the now somewhat pleasant conversation.

"Thanks."

"Now, do you two have a place to sleep for the night?"

"Uh, no we don't actually. Is there any way you could direct us to an Inn or something?"

"No." Emma was very taken aback by yet another seemingly dramatic shift in attitude from the tall man.

"O-oh…ok then." Soubi then let out a small chuckle at the woman's' very defeated expression.

"You'll stay with us. I have a spare bedroom at the moment. My last room-mate even left his bed and some other furniture." Ritsuka's ears immediately perked up in shock at the blonde's offer and his anger was more than present in his tone.

"Soubi!" Emma looked over, to see that even Regina was surprised at this, before answering the blonde in a dumbfounded tone.

"Oh we couldn't possibly-" Soubi was quick to cut off the sheriffs polite decline.

"It's settled then. We don't live very far at all, just follow us and you can figure things out in the morning." Emma looked over to Regina once more to search for any sign of protest. Upon finding none, she turned back to Soubi with a humbled expression.

"Thank you."

"It's no trouble."

"No really…thank you."

"You're more than welcome. Now, let's get going, it's getting late."

"Yeah…sure."

Soubi then turned around, taking Ritsuka under his arm as he did, and began to walk along the dimly lit path. Emma gave one last slightly dumfounded look to Regina, which was returned only with an aloof glare, before following behind the strange duo. Emma and the queen followed with some distance in an uncomfortable silence until Emma gave Regina a slight jab with her elbow before whispering slyly to her.

"Hey…"

"What?" Regina's tone was more than annoyed but Emma had gotten rather good at ignoring this common sound.

"I just noticed something weird."

"And what is that, sheriff?"

"The kid has cat ears but the tall guy doesn't. I wonder what that means…" The queen remained highly unamused by the blonde's observation.

"I really think that is the least of our problems at the moment."

"Well yeah, but maybe it's important."

"I highly doubt that."

"We'll see…" The woman quickly became caught up in their banter and failed to realize when their guides stopped in front of them, causing Emma to almost crash into the tall blonde, who then turned to her with a smile.

"Here we are." Emma gave a slightly awkward smile as she looked to Soubi's side to see a very sour expression on his young companions face.

"U-uh, great. Thanks again, really."

Soubi gave a soft smile before turning around once more to head up a single flight of stairs, with both women close in toe and Ritsuka in the lead, which led to the modest apartment that he shared with the small boy. Once upstairs, Soubi pulled a small key ring out of his pocket and unlocked the door before pushing it open and stepping inside. Ritsuka followed right on his heels while both Emma and Regina hesitated for a moment in the doorway before finally stepping through. Once everyone was inside, Soubi gently closed the door and flipped on a couple light switches to illuminate the moderately sized apartment. Regina and Emma stood somewhat awkwardly by the door while Ritsuka removed his jacket and laid it across the back of the couch before disappearing down the hallway and into a dark room, and Soubi walked into the kitchen to put a small kettle onto the stove. Soubi then looked over his shoulder at the timid women and gave them a smile before breaking the silence.

"Please, make yourselves at home. I can show you to the spare bedroom if you like." Emma did her best to shake off the tension of the situation and replied in an even tone.

"Um, yeah. That would be great actually." The tall blonde then sauntered out of the kitchen and motioned for his guests to follow. The girls followed with arms crossed in an insecure manner until they all reached the end of a short hallway where Soubi had stopped in front of a closed door. He opened the door before stepping inside and flipping on the light switch. Emma and Regina followed and gave the whole room a quick glance. The room was not very large but not tiny either. There was a large dresser against one wall and a vanity against the other. Emma and Regina then both noticed, much to their discomfort, that the room only had one queen sized bed. Once Soubi noticed that his guest had given the room a once over, he cleared his throat slightly to get their attention.

"I hope this will be alright." Emma then realized that there had once again been an awkward silence and did her best to compensate.

"Oh! Yeah, this will be just fine."

"I'm glad. So, there is an attached private bathroom just through that door and since it doesn't look like you to have brought anything along with you, you are more than welcome to use anything from the dresser and closet. I know that the clothes might not fit, but we would be more than happy to show you to some shops in the morning." After her long silence Regina had finally had enough of the overly terrible situation and she let out a very aggravated sigh.

"Great!" Regina's tone was full of fire and fury and she only spoke the one word before storming off into the bathroom and locking herself inside. The small scene caused Emma to let out a small nervous laugh before speaking to her host with her new ears pressed firmly down against the top of her head.

"Sorry about that…she has a bit of short fuse." Soubi simply chuckled slightly at this.

"It's fine, really. I'm sure this whole situation isn't exactly easy."

"Yeah, that's for sure."

"Well, I hope you two will be able to settle in alright. I'll leave you two alone for a moment to change and just relax. When you're finished, I'd love for you two to come sit with us and have some tea before bed." Emma was still in a bit of shock, not only at their exile, but from the overwhelming kindness of these strangers.

"Um…yeah. That sounds nice actually. We will be out in just a minute."

"Great."

With that, Soubi exited the room, shutting the door behind him. Once they were alone, Emma let out a very long sigh as she sat on the bed and placed her head in hands, feeling at a complete loss as to what they were going to do. After taking a second to collect her thoughts, Emma decided just to make the best of a bad situation and walked over to the dresser to look for something to sleep in. She quickly guessed that whoever had left these clothes must have been a very tall slender man, just by the size of them. After rustling around for a few moments, she finally found two pairs of thin cotton sleep pants and two plain cotton T-shirts, one white and one black. She then closed the drawers and quickly stripped away her red leather jacket, shirt and jeans before slipping into the white set of slightly loose fitting sleep clothes. Once she was dressed, she picked up the darker set of clothes before walking over to the bathroom and knocking on it softly.

"Regina?"

"What?!" Emma winced slightly just at the terrifying tone in the other woman's voice.

"I found some clothes for you to sleep in. It's not a perfect fit and I know it's not your silk pajamas, but you can't sleep in that suit." The blonde listened closely for a moment until she heard another rough sigh. The door then suddenly flew open and she found herself face to face with the very unhappy queen.

"Fine!"

Regina then roughly yanked the clothes from Emma's hands before closing the door just as quickly as she had opened it. Emma then made her way back to the bed and sat back down as she waited patiently for Regina to get changed. It wasn't long at all before the door swung open once more and Regina stepped out with arms crossed, ears pressed flat, her tail flicking back and forth in an annoyed manner and dressed in the baggy black outfit.

"I look ridiculous." Emma had to use all of her will power not to chuckle at the sight.

"You look fine. It's pajamas anyway."

"I just can't believe the mess you've gotten me into this time." This statement caused the blonde's ears to perk up perfectly straight and her tone to become immediately offended.

"Me?! I didn't do anything!"

"Surely you didn't something to get us into this."

"Why do you think that?!"

"I hate to break it you Ms. Swan…but trouble follows you everywhere you go. Ever since the first day you came to Storybrooke, things just fall apart around you." Emma then did her best not to take these words to heart and she took a deep breath before trying to diffuse the situation.

"Look Regina…I'm just as upset about all of this as you are, but we need to keep calm and just figure this thing out. Like it or not, we are in this together and all we have at the moment is each other." Regina then finally uncrossed her arms, realizing that the blonde did have a point, and took on a slightly calmer attitude.

"Fine. Let's just try to figure it out in the morning."

"Ok. Now the tall guy asked if we would want to go have some tea before we go to bed." Regina's immediate thought was to adamantly deny this request but she took a quick second to calm herself before decided that a cup of tea did in fact sound very nice.

"Alright."

Emma then gave a small smile fore standing from the bed and leading the way out of the bedroom, down the hall and into the living room where they found both Soubi and Ritsuka sitting next to each other on the small loveseat, both dressed in pajamas. Soubi immediately noticed their presence and motioned for them to have a seat of the long couch across from himself and his partner.

"Your glasses are there on the coffee table; please have a seat." Both women silently did as they were asked and took their seats on the couch, with some distance between them, before they each took a glass in hand. Emma quickly took a sip before looking up to the tall blonde with a smile.

"Thanks. This is really good."

"You're welcome." Emma then committed to avoid any more awkward silence and quickly sparked up conversation.

"So…Soubi, Ritsuka…are you two like brothers or cousins or something?" Soubi laughed happily at this before answering with a grin.

"No. Ritsuka is my-" Soubi was quickly cut off however by a sharp elbow to the side from his annoyed partner.

"Don't even Soubi." Soubi chuckled at the boy's annoyed tone and slightly blushed cheeks.

"Companion." Emma wasn't entirely sure what to make of this and simply accepted it for the time being.

"Ah, ok." Soubi then took a small sip of his own tea before continuing.

"How about you two? Are you sisters? Partners?" Regina almost choked of her drink at this question and was quick to answer before Emma got the chance.

"No! We are just…" Emma then decided to say the word that Regina seemed to always struggle with.

"Friends." The queen then shot the blonde girl a short glare before speaking once again.

"Yes…we are friends." This time both Soubi and Ritsuka chuckled slightly at the short exchange between their guests. After a very short silence, Emma finally decided to ask one of the many questions that had been burning through her brain since they had arrived in this strange place.

"So…Soubi, I have a question that I'm hoping you can answer for me." The tall blonde was happy to oblige and set down his glass before looking back at Emma coolly over the rims of his small glasses.

"I will answer any questions that I can."

"Great. Well…I've noticed that Ritsuka has…well cat ears. It's not something I've ever seen before and Regina and I didn't have them until we arrived here. I also noticed that you don't have any. So what exactly is the deal there?" Ritsuka's ear perked up at this, being genuinely surprised by the question. The ears and tail have always just been a part of life like any other body part and he honestly couldn't imagine anyone not knowing about it. He was starting to think that maybe the women really weren't from his world. Soubi on the other hand didn't seem as surprised and answered in an even tone and with a serious expression, like explaining the birds and bees to a child.

"Well…in our world everyone is born with ears and a tail."

"Really?" Regina then set her glass down to focus fully on her blonde host, hoping he would explain further.

"Yes. They do go away though. In this world, someone's ears and tail are lost when they lose their virginity." Both Regina and Emma's mouths hung open slightly in surprise, neither one of them expecting that answer.

"O-oh…wow…" Emma then immediately felt Regina's glare burning through her and she timidly glanced next to her to see that Regina was indeed glaring at her with a great deal of intensity. Regina broke away from her gaze only to turn it towards Soubi to speak to him in a sour tone.

"So then why do we have them? We are far from virgins." Ritsuka then glanced up at Soubi with a curious expression.

"That is a good question Soubi. Why is that?" Soubi leaned back on the love seat as he pondered on the question for a moment before speaking.

"Well I'm not sure, but if I had to guess I'd say that since you have never been to this world, when you came here it was the equivalent of being born. Of course you weren't actually born into this world, but maybe you two being something completely new here, somehow short circuited and you gained ears and tails. If I'm correct then I'd imagine you would lose them once you lost your virginities in this world, just like everyone else."

The room then fell silent for a moment as Regina and Emma tried to process this information. Once it had sunken in slightly, Regina turned to face Emma once more before speaking to her a low and calmly furious tone of voice.

"You…you are going to pay for this."

**TBC**


	3. Conflict

**Herro! **

**I again apologize for any spelling or grammar errors. I wanted to get this up quickly since it's been so long. I promise ill be better about it in the future! **

**Thanks again! ^_^**

**-Shuichi77**

It had been a long and tiresome evening for everyone in Soubi's home, and his two new guests went to bed that night with a good amount of obvious tension towards one another. Despite the tension between the two women, Soubi decided it best to just leave them be, so he hurried Ritsuka off to bed in the room they shared just across the hall.

Once Regina and Emma had settled into the queen sized bed they were forced to share, they each drifted away to sleep without a single word to each other; each of them still trying to fully take in their situation. Just across the hall however, Ritsuka had quite a bit to say to his overly accommodating Sentouki.

"Soubi I can't believe you are actually just going to let them stay here. We have no idea who they are or where they are from or what they are capable of!" Soubi then closed and sat down the book that he was about to make an attempt to read, before turning in the bed to face his partner next to him.

"Ritsuka, it's not a bad thing to be kind to others. They seem like perfectly fine people and we do know that they are from the enchanted forest."

"Stop saying that like you actually believe it; it's just non-sense. There is no such place and the fact that they are even telling us that makes me suspicious." Soubi simply gave a chuckle and a charming grin at this.

"You are too young to be so pessimistic."

"I just don't trust them." Soubi then leaned over to place a quick kiss on the boy's forehead.

"Well you have nothing to worry about. I will always protect you." This caused a deep red to flush Ritsuka's cheeks that he tried to hide behind the large fluffy comforter of the bed.

"Shut up and go to sleep…" Soubi gave another chuckle as Ritsuka laid down and curled up beneath the covers.

"Goodnight Ritsuka. I love you." Soubi then leaned over and clicked off the small lamp on the nightstand before lying down and wrapping an arm around his partners' small frame and drifting off to sleep.

The next morning came quickly and started with a bang as Soubi shot up in his bed, awoken by the sound of yelling from across the hall. Ritsuka was startled awake immediately after and was quick to leap from the bed and head for the door.

"Ritsuka! Don't." The small boy turned around just as he reached the door to shoot a glare at the blonde.

"What?! They are going at it in there, we have to do something."

"No we don't. We need to let them work it out on their own. It is none of our business."

"But-"

"No. You would be furious is some stranger were to intrude on one of our conversations, no matter the volume." Ritsuka let out a long sigh before heading back to the bed and crawling back inside.

"Fine…but I'm not going to let them do this all morning."

"Fair enough."

Meanwhile, just across the hall, the two women were completely at arms…

"Regina! What is your problem?!"

"Oh? What is my problem?! You! You are my problem!"

"And what exactly have I done to you Regina?!"

"It's your fault that we are in this mess, it's your fault that I may never see my son or Robin again! Everywhere you go, you leave a trail of disaster!"

"Me?! What about you?! The Evil Queen! What about all the things you've done or all the times you have tried to kill me and endangered Henry in the process?"

"All I have ever wanted was to keep Henry safe! You are the one that is always taking him into dangerous situations!" Emma then let out an aggravated sigh before taking a deep breath to calm herself down. After a short moment, she replied in a much more even tone.

"Regina look…we have both made mistakes and I admit that I haven't exactly been great at keeping Henry away from all the crazy things that happened at home, but this mess isn't my fault. Even if it were, I really think that trying to drown me in my sleep is more than a little uncalled for. Not to mention the mess you've made of this room." Regina then softened her expression slightly as she gazed around the entire room that was now completely soaked in water.

"Like I told you before…I didn't do this."

"Well I don't think it started raining _inside_ the house while we were sleeping." Regina's frustration then began to clearly show on her face once more.

"Well I must have done it accidentally in my sleep! I'm sorry ok! Are you happy now?!" This caused Emma's expression to soften to one of slight confusion.

"In your sleep? Is that…something that happens?" Regina was quiet for a short moment before she replied with an equally puzzled expression.

"No…it's never happened actually. I wasn't even sure if our magic would work in this place."

"Well clearly it works."

"Yes, thank you, I can see that Swan." The quarrelling duo was then suddenly interrupted when the tall blonde knocked softly as he spoke through the closed door of the guest bedroom.

"Good morning ladies. We don't have any plans for the day so we thought maybe we would take you shopping for some new clothes if you'd like." After the initial startle, Emma did her best to reply in a calm and unsuspicious tone.

"Uh…yeah! That sounds great. Just uh…give a few minutes to get dressed."

"No problem. We will be in the living room when you're ready." After hearing the faint sound of footsteps trailing away, Emma turned back to Regina to speak in a calm tone.

"Alright Regina, let's just try and take this one thing at a time. Let's go get some new clothes, then we can start trying to get to the bottom of all this and figuring out a way home." Regina crossed her arms in an annoyed manner before responding in a sour tone with her furred ears pressed firmly against her head and her tail twitching angrily.

"Fine…"

A short time passed before both women entered the living room dressed in the clothes that they had arrived in. Soubi and Ritsuka were also dressed and waiting patiently for them on the large couch. Upon noticing their entrance, Soubi gave a warm smile as he stood from his place to greet them.

"Are you both ready to go? There are a few shops within walking distance." Regina simply rolled her eyes in annoyance as Emma answered with a tentative smile.

"Yeah. That sounds great."

"Alright, then let's get going." Soubi then made his way towards the door with Ritsuka close in toe. Emma then followed with Regina reluctantly following a few paces behind. Once they had all filed out the door, Soubi led the way down the stairs and onto the sidewalk that lined their quiet street where Ritsuka stopped to face his Sentouki with a smile.

"So where are we going first Soubi?" Soubi felt relieved to see that Ritsuka's mood had brightened, as well as a small amount of smug self-satisfaction from knowing Ritsuka well enough to know how much he loved shopping.

"I thought we would start at the shopping center just on the corner."

"Ok!" Ritsuka then gave a big grin as he grabbed onto Soubi's sleeve and began pulling him down the sidewalk. Soubi gave a small chuckle at this as he turned his head over his shoulder to speak to his guests that were quickly falling behind.

"Sorry, you'll have to try to keep up, he really loves shopping."

"Shut up Soubi!" Ritsuka's remark only caused Soubi to chuckle more. The sight was enough to temporarily put the situation aside in Emma's mind and she gave a small laugh as she replied.

"Ok, we can keep up. She'll never show it but this one loves to shop too, she's a label queen." Emma then picked up her pace slightly while Regina shot her a look of utter surprise and disgust.

"I am not!" Regina then quickened her pace to catch up as Emma now looked over her shoulder with a giggle.

"Oh yeah? Who are you wearing?" The queen then glanced down at her outfit before answering in a pouting tone with her arms crossed.

"Prada…but that's just this one suit!"

"Right." Emma's sarcasm and earnest grin was finally enough to make Regina crack a small smile as they caught up to be side by side with their hosts.

By the time each duo was done heckling, they had all arrived in front of a small cluster of street vender style shops. As soon as Ritsuka laid eyes on the first shop in the center, he took off through a small door way and all but disappeared in a sea of racks and shelves. Soubi on the other hand hung back by the street, taking great care to make sure his eyes never lost the over excited boy. Emma and Regina soon followed Ritsuka into the first shop, leaving Soubi on the street to stand guard. As the afternoon passed, a certain routine fell into place; the group would arrive at a shop and Ritsuka would dart in followed by Regina and Emma, all the while Soubi waiting patiently and quietly outside. It truly warmed Soubi's heart to be a spectator for the afternoon and be able to see Ritsuka's face light up each time he picked up a sweatshirt or a pair of pants. It even pleased him to see, even if he wasn't exactly involved, that Regina and Emma both seemed to letting their guards down and were actually having a good time. By the time they had left their fourth or fifth shop, both the queen and the sheriff had several bags in hand.

A few hours past and the sun was just beginning to hang on the horizon, and the happy new trio was just setting out to their final shop of the evening with their tall body guard following closely. Once again, just as it had been with the shops before, Ritsuka and the ladies filed into the small shop with smiles on their faces as Soubi waited posed against a lamp post. A few minutes past until Soubi got a sudden chill that he couldn't quite shake. He did his best to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut until something finally snapped inside his mind and he felt and all too familiar feeling. He suddenly darted into the shop where he found Ritsuka and he grabbed him firmly by the wrist. The sensation caused Ritsuka to jerk around to face Soubi with a sour expression.

"Soubi! Let go of me! What's your problem all of a sudden?!" Soubi did his best to reply in a calm and quiet voice.

"I need to speak with you." Soubi then gently pulled Ritsuka away from a display of jackets and out onto the sidewalk where he jerked his arm from Soubi's grasp.

"What is it Soubi?!"

"We have a problem…" Soubi's serious expression immediately concerned Ritsuka.

"What?"

"Someone nearby just engaged their Sentou systems. It's only one signature, so it's definitely a challenge for us."

"What?! Now?!"

"I'm afraid so." Ritsuka then began to panic slightly.

"W-what do we do?! We can't just leave Emma and Regina here."

"I know…they are going to have to come with us."

"We can't just take them with us Soubi!"

"We don't have any other choice." Just then, Emma and Regina appeared out of the shop with confused expression and Emma was quick to question the small boy.

"Hey Ritsuka, where'd you go?"

"U-umm…" Ritsuka then looked up at Soubi, being at a loss for the words to say. Soubi picked up on the boy's stress quickly and answered in his place.

"Emma, Regina, something important has come up and we don't have a lot of time to explain. Please come with us and we will explain what we can on the way." Both women were very confused but did not want to question their host's seriousness, so they followed without hesitation at a hurried pace. A short moment passed of their brisk walk before Emma timidly spoke up.

"Soubi…what's going on." Soubi took a deep breath before answering.

"Well I don't have a whole lot of time to explain in detail so please just try and bear with me."

"Ok…"

"You see, in this world there are certain people born a gift. These people are born with a counterpart, a partner, they share a true name and are bound together by a force stronger than fate. These pairs of people very often engage, for varying reasons, in spell battles." There was then a short pause as Soubi attempted to allow the women a second for this information to sink in. "Ritsuka and I are one of these pairs and just now we were challenged by another pair to a battle. We cannot run away and cannot concede and we don't have time to take you two back to the house. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to come with us." Emma, being too surprised to question the integrity of this claim, began to panic slightly.

"A-a battle? What do you want us to do?" Soubi then stopped suddenly dead in his tracks to whip around to face the blonde with a serious expression.

"Nothing. I want you to do absolutely nothing. I want you two to stand well clear of the battle area and not interfere at all." Soubi then continued walking just as suddenly as he stopped.

"I can't just stand to the side and watch something like that!" At this point even Regina had begun to worry slightly, if not only for Ritsuka's sake. She had already grown fond of the small boy and the thought of him in some sort of battle made her uneasy, so she quickly spoke up in protest.

"Are you sure there is nothing we can do to help? What if one of you gets hurt?" Soubi glanced over his shoulder to reply in a slightly solemn tone.

"There is truly nothing you can do." Ritsuka then glanced over his own shoulder to answer the mayor in a slightly more chipper tone.

"Don't worry, Soubi is the best. He doesn't lose. He always protects me." Before either woman could protest any further, they had all arrived back in the park where they had all met just the night before. Soubi stopped inside the tree line just at the edge of a small clearing before turning to Emma and Regina.

"Please, stay here. We will be fine. Just wait here and once we are done we will explain further when we get to the house." Emma and Regina turned to each other with worried and uneasy expressions before they each reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Soubi then took his sacrifice gently by the hand as they walked into the middle of the clearing just as the sun dipped below the horizon causing all of the lamps in the area to flicker and blink on. They stopped in the very middle of the clearing and waited for their opponent to appear. They weren't waiting long at all before two shadowy figures emerged from the darkness of the trees. Soubi squinted his eyes as he tried to make out faces in the dim light. The tall blonde then rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in annoyance and who was now standing before them.

"Not you two again…" Soubi then paused before shooting the duo a nasty sneer. "Breathless… This caused the cocky green haired boy to slip his hands in his pockets with a smug grin.

"Good to see you again too Loveless." Ritsuka was more than surprised to see those particular two once again and he called out in a confused voice.

"Ai?! Midori?! What are you two doing here? Why are you challenging us?" Midori gave a serious expression as he answered.

"I'm sorry Loveless…we have our orders and we have to follow them."

"But-" Soubi quickly interrupted in a low angry tone.

"Orders from who?" Midori then looked at Ai with a slightly worrisome expression before answering in a very serious voice.

"You _know _who…"

**TBC**


	4. Spell Magic

The atmosphere in the dark and empty park had taken on a rather tense and dark feeling that could be sensed in the air that separated the two dueling pairs. Soubi took a short moment to take in a chest full of the cool night air as he fully assessed the situation.

"So…you have your orders?" Midori was standing in a relaxed stance as he replied in a calm serious tone while slipping his hands back into the pockets of his loose jeans.

"Yes; and you know that we can't just turn them down." Soubi then delicately pulled his small glasses from his face and put them in his pocket before replying in a cool voice.

"No, I suppose you can't." The fiery pink haired girl then suddenly leapt forward to be in front of her Sacrifice in an offensive stance.

"Come on Midori! Let's get this over with!" Midori then gave a determined nod to his partner before taking her hand in his, causing their matching names to light up in the darkness.

"Alright! We declare this to be a battle of spells." Without a moment of hesitation, Soubi pulled Ritsuka into him, tucking him safely under his arm, before replying.

"We accept." With that, the battle radius erupted from the center of the clearing, engulfing both units as well as their two uneasy spectators. Ai and Midori then joined both hands and pull themselves into each other as they spoke.

"We are Breathless, so fierce it's impossible to breath." Soubi then raised a large hand straight out in front of him as he began his attack, never being fond of the introductions that were part of battle etiquette.

"_Incinerate. Tiny sparks erupt into dancing flames that engulf the body."_ The spell swept up a whirlwind of flames that surrounded Soubi and Ritsuka where they stood, before whipping away across the clearing.

"Ai! Don't try to block it head on! Deflect it!" The pink haired girl gave a quick nod before going to work as quickly as she could.

"_Deny! Blow away the flames to nothing!"_ A strong wind then whipped all around the park causing the flames to fade away to nothing. Soubi gave a chuckle at this as he gave the girl a slightly condescending look.

"Looks like you've gotten a little faster Ai…but you still can't protect Midori." This already got the girl flustered and she showed it clearly on her face.

"Shut up!" The green haired boy then took a step forward to place a hand on his Sentouki's shoulder and speak to her in a calming voice.

"Ai, don't listen to him. He knows how to get to you but you can't let him. You are stronger than he thinks and I know you will protect me." This raised the girl's spirits and she was able to put on a determined face before turning back to face Soubi.

"Alright! _Fracture! Break apart the very earth and tear my enemies to pieces!"_ The ground then began to rumble and shake beneath Ritsuka's feet. He clung on desperately to Soubi's strong arms as he tried to keep his footing. Soubi remained silent and still, staring at the buckling earth as he waited to time his defense just right. His keen eyes then quickly picked up the sight of more dramatic shifting of the ground. In that instant, he figured out the spell to use and raised his hand to cast it just before the ground got a chance to fall completely out from beneath his Sacrifice.

"_Release. Empty the gravity from the space and keep us safe from the unstable earth."_ Just as commanded, a small glowing bubble quickly encased both Soubi and Ritsuka, allowing the ground to fall out from beneath them and leaving them standing right where the ground had been. Ai gritted her teeth in anger at the clever defense.

"Damn it…"

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the clearing….

Emma and Regina watched on in stunned silence at the strange scene unfolding right before their eyes. They could each even feel the tension in the air that filled the battle area that they had become entrapped in. After the first few minutes of the battle, Emma finally turned to Regina with a bewildered expression.

"What the hell is going on over there? Is that magic?" Regina shook herself from the shock of the situation to turn to Emma with her arms crossed and her brow furrowed in a puzzled manor.

"I'm not entirely sure. It seems like magic, but not like our magic or any that I've seen in any of the realms I've been to. It's different…stronger somehow." Emma's fur covered ears then perked up to a stand as she stumbled upon a realization.

"Wait! So…does this mean our magic will work like normal here? I mean, you did some kind of something with all that water last night." Regina then took a short moment to think and consider the possibility.

"I'm not sure if our magic will work here at all, let alone like it does at home. I still don't know how the room got soaked last night, I told you that, and I told you that I don't think I even did it. Magic doesn't work that way."

"Well where else would the water come from your highness?" Regina gave an annoyed scoff at the blondes' sarcasm.

"I told you…I _don't _know!"

"Ok, ok….but…" Emma's thought quickly trailed off as her gaze became locked on the battle happening before them. Her eyes grew wide and her thoughts became flustered as she made a realization.

"But what Emma?!" The blonde then turned to the queen with an expression of curiosity and terror.

"What happens to the loser?" Regina hadn't thought of that and so quickly turned her gaze back on the battle with the same terrified and worried expression.

"I…I don't know…"

Meanwhile…

"Just keep it together Ai! You can do this." Soubi couldn't help but to chuckle as Midori did his best to calm his shaky partner. He also couldn't help but to rile her up just a little more.

"Yes, let's see if Ai really can protect Midori…._Shatter. A barrage of needles to pierce the skin in a thousand places." _Ai was determined not to lose and so was quick to defend.

"_Defend! Nothing will reach here!" _ Soubi then gave a cocky grin as thousands of shinning shards and needles broke through the girl's defense to rain down upon the green haired boy, earning him a thick collared restraint around his neck.

"Ahnn!"

"Midori!" Ai quickly ran to her Sacrifice's side as he fell down onto one knee.

"I-I'm fine Ai…just end this."

"R-right." Ai then stood from her place and took up her offensive stance once more, now more determined than ever.

Meanwhile….

Emma and Regina could hardly believe what they were seeing. The battle was nothing like what they had expected. Emma, more than anyone, was starting to really worry about how this might end.

"Regina…did you see that?" Regina had now completely dropped her normal regal and negative demeanor and was now only genuinely worried about the situation.

"Yes…it seems like some sort of chain or restraint. My best guess would be that it's a manifestation of damage taken." Emma's expression was stern as she let everything sink in but she was quick to snap back into a slightly frantic state.

"Well we have to do something! We can't just sit here and watch this; one of them could get hurt." Regina was then quick to revert to her natural tone of aloof sarcasm once more.

"Well what would you suggest we do Miss Swan? We can't just run blindly into something we know nothing about."

"I know…I don't know what we could do. But we have to do something…"

Meanwhile, back in battle….

The pink haired girl was completely fired up and ready for her next attack.

"I'm not going to lose to you this time Soubi! You're just a dirty adult with a different name!" Soubi then shot the girl a fiery gaze.

"We shall see."

"_Demolish! A shockwave that destroys everything in its path!" _Soubi's eyes grew wide as he saw an immense wave of light begin to bubble and roll as its power built. He hadn't truly expected the young girl to pull off such a strong spell. He then gritted his teeth as he thought as fast as he could for a defense, but was not sure if one would even hold. He gave a quick glance over his shoulder to Ritsuka.

"Ritsuka….are you ready?" Ritsuka gave a determined nod before replying.

"Yes." The shockwave then suddenly broke free and began thundering quickly towards Ritsuka's small frame. Soubi quickly held up a hand in defiance.

"_Dissolve. A million firefly's will melt away the crashing wave."_

As commanded, millions of small bright lights flooded the area and met up with the wave halfway in between the dueling units. Soubi held firm as the force of the attack pushed back against him, until suddenly the lights burst all at once and disappeared as the wave pushed its way through. The wave then began to roll along its path once more.

At the edge of the clearing, Emma could no longer hold back her feelings and concerns.

"Regina! We have to do something!" Regina was just as worried, but was held back by her logical thinking that they could do nothing.

"We can't Emma! We can't do anything!" Emma then let out a low growl in her throat in frustration.

"No! You won't do anything! And if you won't do anything….then I will!" Before Regina could even react, Emma took off running at full pace towards the small fragile boy that they had really only just met. Regina quickly panicked at the sight, but all she could seem to do was call out to the fiery blonde.

"Emma!"

The sound of the queen's call reached all the way to Soubi and Ritsuka's ears, and they each whipped their heads around to see Emma barreling towards them on one side and a powerful attack on the other. Soubi immediately panicked, not knowing if he could do anything to stop the girl or the attack.

"Emma! Get out of here now!"

Soubi's words feel on deaf ears as Emma just kept running until she finally reached Ritsuka. She was too out of breath to speak and upon seeing the shimmering wave was only feet away, she did the only think she could think of and wrapped the small boy tightly up in her arms and held on tight.

"E-Emma! What are you doing?!" Ritsuka did his best to try and struggle free and push the woman out of the way but he simply wasn't strong enough.

"I…won't let…you get hurt…"

Before anyone could do anything else, the attack finally landed on its mark hard with a glowing explosion. Soubi could then only listen to the barely audible screams and wait on baited breath for the smoke to clear. From the edge of the clearing all Regina could see was some sort of explosion engulf the spunky sheriff. The sight was finally enough to light the fire within her and she immediately began to run towards the scene. By this point even Ai and Midori were not only completely confused as to who had run into the middle of a closed battle, but were slightly worried as to what had happened.

As the smoke began to settle, everyone was watching on intently waiting for the outcome. After a short moment the dust finally settled and Regina was the first to react to what she saw.

"Emma!" She then quickly ran to where the blonde now laid on the ground with a chained collar locked around her neck and two more around each of her wrists. Ritsuka was already sitting on his knees at Emma's side, in a state of shock as he tried to utter his thoughts.

"I-I…don't understand…I don't know…"

Regina ignored the boy completely as she fell to her knees and took the blonde's limp unconscious body up into her arms. She couldn't seem to find any words to say and even more concerning, was suddenly overcome with a flurry of strange feelings that she had never felt before and couldn't understand. All she could do in that moment was pull the blonde's body closer and tremble. Soubi on the other hand, was the first to notice that there was something else going on in the current situation. He remained calm, as not to worry anyone, as he saw the ground around Regina begin to shake slightly and pebbles start to levitate ever so slightly off the ground around them. He took a quick second to subtly motion to Ritsuka to step away from them, which he did very slowly and quietly, getting a strange sense of danger from the woman. He then slowly approached the woman, completely ignoring the battle at hand, and gently placed a large hand on her shoulder before speaking in a very soft and calming voice.

"Regina…I'm sure you are confused right now and are feeling things you've never felt before, and that's ok. Emma is going to be just fine, and that's a promise; but right now I need you to take a deep breath and calm down." Soubi waited for a reply but received only silence. "I know this is hard to understand but I will explain everything later. Right now it's very important that you calm down and get back to the edge of the field." Again she said nothing, but this time she silently stood from her place with Emma held limply in her arms and began to walk away. She was quickly stopped however by the feeling of Soubi's firm grasp on her shoulder.

"Regina…Emma has been restrained, she has to stay here; but you need to get clear." The queen then finally shot Soubi a fierce burning gaze before speaking in a low and terrifying voice.

"I'm not leaving her." Soubi knew when he just couldn't win, so he released his grasp and allowed Regina to go back down to her knees with Emma still wrapped in her arms.

"Ok. Just stay right there then." Ritsuka then finally snapped out of his stunned silence and ran to Soubi's side to cling back onto him.

"Soubi….what's going on?"

"I'm not positive…but this isn't the time to explain anything. We have to finish this so we can get out of here." Ritsuka then put on a determined grin.

"Then finish it. I order you to win, now." Soubi gave a small smile as he pulled the boy closer and caught his lips in a quick but passionate kiss.

"Understood." Soubi then turned his attention back to the baffled looking duo across from them.

"_Implosion. Tear apart the very cells of my enemy." _

Soubi's words were quick and fierce and sent a blinding light racing across the meadow at lightning speed. Ai quickly raised a hand to try to defend, but the attack landing before she could utter a single syllable, leaving Midori completely restrained.

"Ahh!" Ai quickly ran to her partner's side while Soubi raised a hand to stake his claim.

"Victory." With that final word, the battle field broke apart and collapsed around them.

As the field collapsed, all the restraints from both units shimmered and disappeared. Soubi remained focused on Breathless until they both stood their feet.

"Now go. Run back to Teacher." Midori gritted his teeth slightly as he spit his reply.

"He won't be happy about this Soubi… about any of this."

"Run along."

Ai and Midori then did as they were told and walked away with their tails between their legs. Soubi was then able to turn his attention back to his guests. Just as he turned around to check on the women, Emma gasped back into consciousness as she shot up to a seated position. Regina on the other hand let out a loud gasp of her own as she clenched her chest, as if she was waking from a dream. Regina and Emma then both stood to their feet and brushed themselves off before looking to Soubi with puzzled expressions. Emma was the first to speak with her furry ears pressed firmly against her head.

"Ok…what the hell just happened?" Soubi took a deep breath before answering.

"Ladies…that's a very long story."

**TBC**


End file.
